Patricia Espinosa is COP30 Special Envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean, CEO and Founding Partner of onepoint5 and former UNFCCC Executive Secretary.

From the cloud-crowned canopy of the Andes to the flowing arteries of the Amazon River, the Amazon biome is more than a rainforest. It is a cornerstone of planetary stability. It sustains the livelihoods and spiritual lives of over 400 Indigenous Peoples, regulates rainfall across South America, and stores more than 100 billion tons of carbon – equivalent to a decade of global emissions.

Today, this biome stands at a dangerous crossroads.

As leaders of Amazon nations prepare to gather for the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA) Heads of State Summit in Colombia this week, and the world turns its eyes to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the moment is ripe for a renewed Amazonian compact – one that signals a decisive break from extractive models of the past and opens a path to prosperity rooted in nature, equity, and resilience.

A new paradigm is emerging

Despite geopolitical headwinds and a multilateral system under strain, countries across the Global South understand that the path to prosperity must include accelerated action on climate and nature, delivering jobs, food security, and economic renewal.

Developing and emerging economies have lost $525 billion over the past two decades due to extreme weather. By 2030, excessive heat is projected to reduce global working hours by 2.2% – a productivity loss equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs.

But the shift we are witnessing is not only about managing climate risks to protect economic development. It’s about understanding that building resilience delivers high returns – even when disaster doesn’t strike.

Brazil insists it will host COP30 in Belém, despite accommodation worries

According to the World Resources Institute, every $1 invested in adaptation can yield over $10 in benefits – in the form of protected lives and infrastructure, higher productivity and crop yields, and preserved ecosystems.

In Brazil alone, meeting national restoration targets could generate 2.5 million new jobs. In Colombia, forest protection is improving security in former conflict zones. In Kenya, nature-based solutions are helping farmers manage rising temperatures while restoring ecosystems.

This is the “new economy” that is already being built. But to fully unlock its potential, we need coordinated leadership – and we need it now.

The Amazon: a global priority and regional opportunity

The Amazon is reaching a tipping point. Parts of the forest are drying, degrading, and emitting more carbon than they absorb. Deforestation and fossil fuel expansion in this biome are not just local threats – they are destabilizing regional rainfall, agricultural productivity, and the health and safety of millions.

Amazonian countries can and must change this trajectory. The upcoming OTCA Summit is a critical moment to announce concrete steps that deliver the Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement:

• Align the global push to phase out fossil fuels with regional ambition in the Amazon;
  
• Enforce zero illegal deforestation and h